A Nairobi-based lawyer has petitioned the National Assembly seeking the removal of Judicial Service Commission Vice Chairperson Isaac Rutto over alleged violation of constitutional requirements on political neutrality.
In the petition filed by advocate Muriuki Eric Mwirigi, Rutto who sits on the JSC as a public representative is accused of serious constitutional breaches and gross misconduct after attending a United Democratic Alliance National Governing Council meeting at State House on January 26.
According to the petitioner, Rutto’s presence at the high-level political meeting chaired by President William Ruto amounts to open partisan conduct that is incompatible with his role at the Judicial Service Commission.
Photographs and social media posts attached to the petition allegedly show Rutto dressed in full UDA party colours while attending the meeting, an action Mwirigi terms “unprecedented, deplorable, and constitutionally unacceptable” for a serving JSC official.
The petition comes at a time when the JSC is overseeing a sensitive judicial recruitment process, having recently concluded interviews for Court of Appeal judges and preparing to begin interviews for High Court and Environment and Land Court judges from February 4.
The petitioner argues that Rutto’s actions have objectively compromised the independence of the JSC, undermining public confidence in the judiciary.
In the petition, Mwirigi states that Rutto’s conduct has exposed the judiciary to “national shame, embarrassment, ridicule, and disrepute.”
The petition outlines five grounds for removal, citing violations of constitutional provisions on integrity, impartiality, and institutional independence, as well as breaches of the Judicial Service Act, which requires JSC members to relinquish any political party affiliation.
Further, the lawyer claims Rutto’s actions contravene the Leadership and Integrity Act and the Conflict of Interest Act, arguing that judicial officers must avoid not only actual political involvement but also the appearance of partisan alignment.
Mwirigi now wants the National Assembly to transmit the petition to the President, recommending the suspension of Isaac Rutto as a member of the Judicial Service Commission and the appointment of a tribunal to investigate the allegations, in accordance with the Constitution.
